Thoughts on 2016 Goals……

Every year since I began running (mid 2013) I have made yearly running goals. What can I accomplish to push myself beyond my limits? 2013 was 5K to Half Marathon in 8 weeks, 2014 was my first Triathlon and in 2015 I ran my first Full Marathon!

The goals have been pretty simple when looking at them on face value. I am increasing distance each year. So I suppose the next natural goal for 2016 would be an Ultra Marathon?

Well, no. While I enjoyed the Full Marathon I think for right now that is where my cap is as far as distance goes. That’s not to say eventually down the road I will go beyond 26.2 miles. But for right now there is no fire that burns inside of me to run beyond that distance.

Of course 2016 will be plenty busy with running. There are the yearly races I will always run year after year: Philly 10K, Hot Chocolate 15k, Broad Street Run 10 Miler, 3 – 4 Half Marathons and a bunch of local 5K’s (preferably for good causes). And of course I would like to add a few runs on behalf of the Organization for Autism Research.

Along with all of those runs I will be running my 2nd Marathon! This will be my 3rd race as a BibRave Pro so it goes without saying 2016 will be all about continuing and strengthening my ambassadorship with BibRave. I will have a goal for a time I would like to finish that race in. So of course completing that run will be a part of the goals for 2016.

However that still leaves me with that #1 goal I like to aim for on a yearly basis. I have given it a lot of thought and the one main goal for 2016 won’t be running related at all. For 2016 I have decided to enter the world of CrossFit.

Running for the past few years has done wonders for me cardiovascularly. So I can never walk away from it. However I would like to start incorporating an activity that will help me more physically. By no means do I struggle with body image, but at the same time there are some things I would like to change as far as building muscle goes. Things that I feel CrossFit can help with. However more than that I believe this will be a test for me. It will push me out of my comfort zone which is what my yearly goals have always been about.

So while 2016 will be different in the sense that I won’t have that one major race to aim for. It will continue to be a year that I push myself beyond my limits. Who knows maybe I’ll fall in love with CrossFit the same way I have running. Or maybe I’ll crash and burn. But just like my first half marathon, triathlon and marathon; I’ll never know until I get out there.